Complicity
by Floridianfan
Summary: Riley and Lucas fluff :) ***Technically this is part 3.5 of the Loophole Series, because it is a companion story. It CAN be read on it's own as a one-shot for those who haven't read the rest of the series. Either way I hope you enjoy!***


_**A/N: In honor of Rucas appreciation week I wrote a story for them within the "Loophole" universe, since I am stuck there right now, lol. It can be enjoyed separately as a one-shot or as a companion story to the series.**_

 _ **This is dedicated to: Katie because she is my Rucas Queen, Lauren because she says I am her advisor, Sammy my Florida sister, and sand1128 because I promised you Rucas and I always keep my promises**_

 _Complicity: noun, the state of being involved with others in a questionable activity or wrongdoing_

Monday January 16, 2017

Riley left the note on the kitchen table before she went outside to meet her boyfriend.

 _Mom and Dad,_

 _We are going to spend the day at the movies! Will be back for the big birthday dinner! Text me if you need anything. Love you!_

 _Riley_

True, she didn't specify who the "we" was referring to in the note, so she wasn't exactly _lying_ to her family, but she still had a few distracting pangs of guilt as she waited.

"Hey, Princess" Lucas said with a smile as he walked up to meet her on the sidewalk, greeting her with a soft peck and a hug in the cold.

"Hi! Sorry, I was kind of lost in my thoughts. Ready to go?"

"Not so fast. What's going on, Riley? It's Maya's birthday, so I figured today would be 'Riley-Maya' time, which you know I'm cool with. I know better than to get between 'ring power' and everything" Lucas said.

Riley looked at him with a smile. Lucas literally had to be the best boyfriend on the planet. She and Maya were more than best friends; they were sisters. Anyone who wanted to be in their lives would need to understand that the two would always be there for each other. Not every guy would readily sign up for that, but Lucas Friar, for some reason that continued to evade her, did. Not only did he accept their friendship, he supported and promoted it. When Riley would come to him upset with Maya, he would encourage the two to work out their issues. How did she get so lucky?

"Oh! Maya had other stuff to do today, so I wanted to spend the day with my boyfriend…is that a problem?" Riley asked with a raised eyebrow. She tried to sound intriguing and maybe even a little seductive to distract him, but (of course) that failed miserably.

"Okay, first, you know I always want to spend time with you so _that_ isn't the problem, Riley. Second, you only do that weird 'flirty face' thing when you are trying to hide something from me."

"Weird? I was trying to be _alluring_ , Lucas. How am I supposed to distract you with my feminine wiles if you think they are 'weird'?" Riley asked with a frown.

"Seriously? 'Feminine wiles'?" Lucas asked.

Riley looked up at him with her big brown doe eyes and he melted on the spot. He was completely and utterly wrapped around her finger and she had no idea, thank goodness. If she had any idea the power she had over him he would be completely out of luck. She could ask for the freaking moon and he would have to figure out some way to get it to her at this point. From the moment she landed on his lap that day riding the subway he was a total goner.

Lucas had grown used to her occasional bouts of insecurity, despite his utter devotion to her. For himself, he had never questioned their feelings. Even through that whole 'brother' nonsense last year, he only wanted her to be happy. If that meant doing what she wanted and going on some awkward dates with Maya so the blonde could figure out her own "feelings" like Riley was urging her to, he was willing to do that. She was Riley; he would do anything for her. He even tried to embrace the "brother" role until his talk with Auggie. Then he readily took the provided "out" to climb his way out of the dreaded "brother-zone."

It wasn't an easy couple of months, thinking Riley no longer felt the way he felt, but Lucas managed to go through the motions. He could see the confusion Maya felt and wanted her to figure out her feelings on her own. Lucas knew deep down they wouldn't make a good couple. She teased him and joked with him, and she was beautiful and fun to be around, but something was missing. The dates took away what was so special about their friendship. But he knew he had to let her figure that out on her own, because otherwise it would be him choosing one girl over the other. Besides, Riley wanted _Maya_ to figure out her feelings and Lucas wanted what Riley wanted.

Watching Riley "move on" was a true test of the patience and self-control he had tried to gain since his move to New York. He had to swallow his disgust when he saw her on dates with that creep Charlie Gardner, and he was successful, at least most of the time. He almost broke at her New Year's party when he heard her answer "Popcorn and licorice" as part of _The Couples Game_. Who eats licorice with popcorn? Thank goodness Riley realized they were not a good match, despite Charlie's unsettling amount of knowledge about her, and much to Lucas's relief Farkle revealed Riley's true feelings later that night.

It took a little while but the three of them realized that they weren't being true to themselves. Maya realized the confused feelings she had about Lucas stemmed from her reluctance to let people into her life that genuinely care about her, because she was so disappointed in the past. Of course Josh played a role in her epiphany as well, because when she compared her feelings and saw confused ambiguity with Lucas and stunning, vivid clarity with Josh, there really was no contest.

Riley realized she was pushing Lucas away partly because she was scared to lose him, and partly because she was insecure after the yearbook made her question what they had. Lucas realized that he could finally be open about his feelings for Riley, leading to a reestablishment of their "unofficial thing" that was suddenly a little bit more "official" to both of them. They avoided labels for almost a year, but by Riley's 15th birthday they were ready to move forward as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Still though, relationships are complicated. Riley's insecurity remained, despite his reassurances and unwavering commitment to her. She still had the tendency to value what other people thought of her more than what she thought of herself. Riley didn't look in the mirror and see the same beautiful ray of sunshine he saw. Lucas learned he had to be patient, prepared, and understanding because from time to time she would continue to question what they had, just as she was right now.

"Riley, do you know the first time I ever found you 'alluring'?" Lucas asked.

Riley shook her head in denial. Riley Matthews the goof ball was loveable enough, but never would be an intriguing or attractive distraction for a boy like Lucas.

"It was on the subway, that first day. Remember? You landed on my lap and I told you my name and you said 'I love it' with that big grin of yours. It was when you snuck up behind me because we were too nervous to talk to each other and smelled me. Yes, I knew you were there, and I thought it was adorable. It was when I talked to you in the library and you saw me as someone worth listening to. I told you things I never told anyone, Riley. And you believed in me. You've always believed in me. _That_ is what's always been 'alluring' about you."

Riley's cheeks grew red as she held his hand and they walked the blocks to the movie theatre. She smiled up at him. Riley knew he was sincere about what he said, but she continued to doubt from time to time. Luckily, he was always more than happy to reassure her by saying exactly what she needed to hear.

"You _do_ realize you completely accomplished your mission anyways, right? Just by being yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

Lucas answered "Well I am _pretty_ sure you tried to be 'alluring' in order to get me to the movies where we could sit in the dark and spend some 'quality' time together, and I wouldn't ask you about what's going on with Maya, and…Oh would you look at that! Here we are."

Riley smiled as Lucas dramatically pointed to the building and said "Am I that transparent?"

Lucas looked down at her and couldn't stop himself from pulling her to him and kissing her senseless. It was morning in the middle of the street, and PDA was something they did not exercise regularly, but she was just too irresistible sometimes.

"You know I wouldn't want you any other way, Princess" Lucas said breathlessly as their foreheads touched.

"Maya's with Josh!" Riley said impulsively as if his kiss acted as a truth serum. She could never really keep secrets from him anymore.

Lucas pulled her into a hug, his first priority being his girlfriend's well-being, before considering the implications for his blonde best friend who had become the sister he never had. Riley spilled everything to him as they bought tickets to a nameless movie, purchased their traditional gummies, popcorn, and chocolate, and found seats in the back of the dark theatre. This was an established ritual for them, choosing a movie that had been out for weeks and spending hours alone in the almost empty spaces.

"I'm just so worried about what will happen, but I also know how happy she is with him, Lucas. She really loves him. I know she doesn't want to admit it, but I can see it. It's like I am torn because I don't want her hurt but I want to see her happy. What do I do?" Riley asked, cuddled to his side, the arm rest between their seats lifted so there was no barrier between them.

"You be Riley to her Maya, Princess, like always. We will be there for her no matter what happens. You aren't alone" Lucas reassured her.

"I still don't know how I got so lucky, you know" Riley smiled.

"Was just thinking the same thing, Princess" Lucas agreed.

They sat in contented silence watching cartoons for a while when Lucas said with sudden realization "Riley Matthews, you are totally using me right now!"

"I am not!" Riley said defensively.

"I'm your cover for Maya aren't I? Your parents think you guys are out together for her birthday, but you are here with me so she can be with Josh. Right?"

"Well…" Riley said hesitantly.

Lucas grinned "I feel so cheap!" he exclaimed in mock outrage.

Riley giggled and smacked him "Stop it. Besides she made an excellent case to me last night."

"Case? Oh no, don't tell me. She went with 'legal loophole' again?"

Riley conceded "Well, this year it's a little different, it's _precedent_. Since the rules applied last year they apply this year so they can be together for a little while again."

"Precedent? Wow. That's actually pretty impressive" Lucas said with a nod.

"We really had it out though, because of how things turned out last time, but you know how determined she is. There's no stopping her. And by the end she had pretty much won me over to their side by appealing to my inner 'hopeless romantic'" Riley explained.

Lucas gave her a reassuring squeeze "She knows you well, Riley. I just can't believe you are part of her secret now, basically helping them hide from your family. Are you really my girlfriend?"

Riley sighed "Lucas, I _had_ to help them. She pulled out all the stops and got me with her trump card. She knew it would work to get me on board and it did."

"And what's that? I need to know what argument I can use to always convince you I'm right."

"It's _you_ , Lucas" Riley admitted shyly.

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

Riley explained "All she had to do was ask me what I would do if I were her and something was keeping me from being with you. Would I take a small window of opportunity to be with you even if I knew I may be hurt in the end? And of course I would. So how could I judge her for doing the same?"

He responded "Wait, so _I'm_ the reason she was able to convince you?"

"Well more like 'taking a chance on love' but, yeah, for me that's you. You are my greatest risk because you have my heart. And something could happen that leaves me devastated in the end but I would always choose to love you, every time" Riley looked down at her clasped hands on her lap.

Lucas undraped his arm from the back of her seat, shifted so he was facing her, and grabbed her right hand with his left, lifting it to his mouth for a soft kiss.

"You know you're _my_ greatest risk too, Riley. I know you don't believe that but you are. You have my heart too and I'm just as vulnerable, if not more. Part of me expects you to wake up and realize I'm just some guy with anger issues who isn't nearly good enough for someone like you" Lucas said as he looked down.

Riley reached over and placed her left palm on his cheek, lifting his face to look at her.

"Well, then I guess we need to be pretty careful with each other" she said with a gentle smile before she leaned forward, kissed him softly, and snuggled back into his side.

Lucas draped his arm around her shoulders again and held her to him.

After a while Riley added "You know I do kind of feel a little uneasy about lying to my parents today, but it's also kind of exciting. Does that make me a bad person?"

Lucas let out a laugh "Not even if you tried, Princess."

Riley scoffed "I'm serious! I'm a part of the secret now! I even found my _own_ legal terminology, I'll have you know."

"And what's that?" Lucas asked with a smile.

"Well I was thinking 'aiding and abetting' at first but that makes it seem like they're doing something criminal, which they aren't. So I found another term that seems just as sneaky but a little 'alluring' as well" Riley said with a smirk.

"'Alluring' again, huh? Well now I'm definitely intrigued."

" _Complicity._ After all I'm 'involved' in the scheme, but not directly. I'm just… _complicit_ " Riley said in a low whisper "Does that make me more 'alluring' Lu-"

Riley was cut off by his lips smashing into hers in a passionate kiss. Suddenly legal terminology was the farthest thing from her mind and she responded to him with enthusiasm. Lucas Friar then spent the rest of the day happily showing Riley Matthews exactly how 'alluring' she really was to him.

 _ **The End.**_

 _ **Awww it was kind of fun to write for Rucas again. I may need to do more...**_


End file.
